


Barista Troubles

by etanunu



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Coffeeshop AU, M/M, MIller's kind of a dork in this, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 01:49:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6218827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etanunu/pseuds/etanunu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Minty coffee shop AU: Bellamy finally let his attention flow back to the work in front of him. He grabbed his pen and started twirling it around his fingers; a signal Miller knew meant Bellamy was about to get back to work. “Just ask the guy out. Maybe you’ll stop dropping coffee on yourself.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Barista Troubles

X X X X X X

“That’s it.” Miller growled while walking into his and Bellamy’s apartment so abnormally quickly that Bellamy swore someone was probably following him. The younger man had a to-go coffee cup in his right hand and went straight to the dining table where Bellamy was currently studying for his Ancient Rituals exam.

Deliberately slow, Bellamy looked up with just barely there curiosity.

Even if Miller was sort of going through a small meltdown at the moment he could still tell his best friend and roommate was probably only paying attention to him because he was being uncharacteristically dramatic not because he was genuinely interested in a study break.

“What happened?” Bellamy asked with a sigh.

Slamming his coffee cup onto the table, Miller made a show of groaning. “I’m never going back there again. Who cares that they’re the only place with an actual panini press in the city instead of that cardboard wrapped shit at Starbucks.”

“Are you even listening to yourself?” Bellamy asked leaning his chin against his hand. Clearly he didn’t understand the value of a good sandwich. “Did you get pickpocketed or mugged several times while you were there or what?”

Miller frowned. That statement was incredibly stupid to direct at an ex-thief-for-fun and Bellamy knew that. Which was why he was blatantly grinning at him. At the very least, the accusation that Miller would ever let himself get robbed—frequently robbed—sobered him up. Relaxing significantly despite the weird feeling in his stomach, Miller took a seat and spoke normally again. “I keep getting the same damn barista.”

Bellamy blinked. “So?”

Rolling his eyes, he answered. “So, do you not remember what happened the last time you went with me?”

“You mean when you forgot your own name and after that Asian kid called your name five times he had to go up to you with your order?”

Miller looked away embarrassed but nodded. “Then I dropped hot coffee into my right boot.”

Leaning back into his chair, Bellamy crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at his best friend. “What? You did that again?”

“I keep doing that.” The confession took a lot out of Miller. Bellamy, on the other hand, just looked worried as he glanced down at Miller’s feet. “Not spilling coffee on myself, just embarrassing myself in front of the same barista.”

“Ahh,” Bellamy said in that familiar tone he used whenever he felt older and wiser. “He’s cute, isn’t he?”

Miller actually managed an indignant scoff at the allegation that Bellamy would think him so weak willed. “Yes, but I’m around attractive guys all the time and I don’t mess up my drink orders around them.”

The freckled man chuckled. “What else have you done? Out of curiosity.”

By all means, nothing Miller considered world ending were even noticeably embarrassing things. It was all, “Ordered a tuna Panini when they don’t offer that and I knew they didn’t. Walked away from the cashier as soon as I gave my order before I could get my card back. I basically threw my card like a throwing star just yesterday. Ordered an extra-large latte, which also doesn’t exist there.”

As the younger boy went on and on about how ridiculous he looked each time, Bellamy couldn’t help but grin like an idiot. After all, his best friend seemed to be pretty hung up on this barista. “What’s his name?”

Without missing a beat, he answered. “Monty. And he probably thinks I’m a spaz.”

“Miller,” Bellamy said calmly. “It’s pretty clear you like this guy.”

Predictably, Miller glared. “I don’t even know him. Also, I already told you, one attractive guy is not enough to make me—“

Bellamy raised his hands defensively. “I’m just saying, when was the last time your world ended because some guy might think you’re not as cool as you pretend to be. Probably not since Br—“

“I’m not ready to date yet.”

“I think you are. It’s been six months and you started going to that coffee shop about three months ago.” Bellamy finally let his attention flow back to the work in front of him. He grabbed his pen and started twirling it around his fingers; a signal Miller knew meant Bellamy was about to get back to work. “Just ask the guy out. Maybe you’ll stop dropping coffee on yourself.”

X X X X X X

Three days went by before Miller couldn’t help his cravings for a panini and a peppermint mocha. He valiantly tried to avoid going back, but the rainy weather and the fact that Bellamy finally started to make some progress in his own love life made him cave.

As soon as he opened the door to the small hole-in-the-wall coffee shop the familiar smell of coffee beans and freshly baked bread rushed to his nose. It was a comforting smell that would stick to his clothes until he got home.

Miller adjusted the grey beanie on his head and took a deep breath before walking toward the register. He made himself busy by looking at the display, though he knew he would probably order a prosciutto and artichoke panini like always. To delay the inevitable he even looked up at the menu instead of the cashier as he made his order.

Nonchalance normally worked for him, and maybe it would again today. Maybe he could just breeze through his order, not humiliate himself, and flirt a little? Just enough to test the waters.

“Prosciutto and artichoke panini for here. And a, uh—“ The words stopped when he finally looked down and saw that for once Monty the barista was not taking his order. It was a thin, white kid with messy hair and goggles hanging around his neck. The guy smiled at him enthusiastically, his nametag said ‘Jasper.’ “Uh, a regular hot chocolate. Thanks.”

Jasper’s eyebrows jumped up as he ran Miller’s order. “Coming right up!”

Despite his awkward loss of words right there, Miller could call the entire exchange successful. Definitely more successful than anytime he interacted with Monty. He got his order out okay, he paid for his order without a hitch, he even remembered to grab his card after, and snagged a table without tripping!

By the time Jasper came round with his order, Miller finally had to admit he was a bit disappointed he didn’t see the cute Asian barista like usual. Even if it meant he got to keep his cool for a change.

He pulled out the book Bellamy had recently recommended to him—forced on him—and chose to read and eat his panini in peace. It wasn’t a huge loss. Plus, Miller decided, if he kept feeling like this by the time he decided to head home he could just ask Jasper if Monty still worked there or not. Maybe.

About halfway through his drink and only a couple pages into This Bloody Mary Is The Only Thing I Own, a stack of paper napkins appeared in front of his plate. Miller held his cup in front of him, mid-drink, and followed the napkins to a hand, that lead to an arm, that went all the way up to the amused face of his badluck charm. With a teasing smirk, the barista said, “I thought it might be a good precaution.”

Of course, perfectly timed and all, he dropped the cup. The ceramic broke against the tile floor and hot chocolate splashed his seat, his thigh, and Bellamy’s book. “Fuck!”

They both moved forward, grabbing half of the stack of napkins respectively, and kneeling down to try to clean everything up. Miller pooled the ceramic in his hands, ignoring the burning feeling, and moved the pieces to his wet seat. His knees started to feel warm and sticky from kneeling on the mess he made. 

“Shit, shit, shit, I’m so sorry,” the barista said, his hands moving around anxiously trying to mop everything up.

“You?” Miller asked incredulous, stopping completely to look at the agitated boy. “This was all me. Like always I just—shit, I’m such a fucking mess. I’m sorry.”

“No, I—“

“Seriously it was all—“

“If I hadn’t—“

“My roommate’s right, I can’t handle being—“

“I thought it would be funny—“

“Mop?” a third voice asked. Both Miller and Monty stopped what they were doing and looked up at the guy with goggles looking down at them wholly entertained.

There was a pregnant pause before Monty rushed to stand up and take the mop in his co-worker’s hands with a sigh of relief. “Thanks, man.”

“Yeah, uh,” Miller sighed standing up, “thanks.”

He looked back at the guy’s nametag again, Jasper. Jasper looked Miller up and down, no longer smiling just grimacing at the mess. “You should use the restroom to clean up.”

Though he nodded repeatedly, Miller didn’t say anything else. He pulled his lips in and bit down as he did his walk of shame to the restroom.

Inside he cleaned himself as best he could, eventually removing his windbreaker and beanie in annoyance. Taking a deep breath, he resigned himself to his fate, and left the safety of the restroom to once and for all end this nonsense.

When he came back outside his table was all cleaned up, the chair he was using was moved out of the way for cleanup and replaced, and Monty had left. Miller looked around but only saw Jasper smiling and waving at him behind the counter again.

He dropped down on his chair with a groan and tried to dry up the edges of Bellamy’s book. Destruction of such valuable property unquestionably meant he’d be doomed to frozen dinners for a week instead of Bellamy’s home cooking.

This was it, the final straw.

He’d have to find a new place with good paninis around the city. Not impossible, but it involved a lot more time out than Miller was fond of.

Someone cleared their throat. Monty tried to force a smile and took a seat in front of him. “Did your book make it?”

He chuckled and relaxed in the clean seat. Miller ran a hand over his face and tried to speak as casually blasé as he could. “It’s my roommate’s actually.”

“Any chance he’s a fan of chocolate?” Monty was adorable. He was trying so hard to cheer Miller up and all Miller was able to do was act pathetically around the guy. And based on the fact that he wasn’t wearing a nametag or apron, the barista had probably finished his shift and was heading home before Miller made him work.

He shook his head. “Not like this, no.” Miller bit his lip, trying not to smile too big.

Monty looked down at his lips briefly, but it was enough for Miller to finally convince himself to just go for it. He may as well do something if he was already planning to never come back ever again.

“I hear muffins soften the blow. On the house if you—“

“Any chance you’re into guys, single, and up to hang out when I’m not around hot liquids?” The thrumming in his chest was deafening, but Miller kept his eyes focused on Monty. If he couldn’t hear the guy’s answer over the blood in his ears, he could always read his lips.

“Yes!” Monty’s eyes had gotten really big and he chuckled a bit, embarrassed by his own enthusiasm.

Miller couldn’t help it. He started laughing, enjoying the moment when Monty turned red instead of himself. “Cool.”

X X X X X X

That night he didn’t need to tell Bellamy he went to the coffee shop. The evidence was clearly stained on his clothes.

Bellamy was wearing his glasses and mid-yawn when Miller walked past him. “I take it didn’t go well,” he said, voice stretched out from the yawn.

Miller dropped his stuff on the dining table and grabbed a chair. “Good news, bad news, or worse news first?”

“Worse news.”

“Worse news, I spilled hot chocolate everywhere when he came over to talk to me when his shift ended. It was all too dangerously close to parts I prefer far away from hot chocolate.” 

He gave Bellamy a minute to laugh everything out. When his roommate started to quiet down, Miller smirked. “Bad news, some of it got on your book.”

That made him fall silent.

He started going toward his room, hoping to change out of his clothes and avoid one of his roommate’s infamous lectures. Despite Bellamy’s death glare, Miller found himself grinning. “Good news,” he said, “I have a date.”

Bellamy shook his head and spun his pen around. “You’re buying me a new copy.”

X X X X X X

**Author's Note:**

> Ta-dah! First complete Minty fic. More to come, I hope! Based on my own unromantic mishaps at coffee shops. I’m considering maybe doing Monty’s POV in the future, but we’ll see. Let me know what your thoughts are!


End file.
